Improvement in pneumatic signaling apparatus



A. CHAMBERS.

PNEUMATIC smmmm AE'PARATUS.

No.175;820. Patented April 11. 1876.

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]TZ7 fnt v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUSTIN CHAMBERS, OF NO. 258 MARYLEBONE ROAD, GREAT BRITAIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN PNEUMATIC SIGNALING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 175,820, dated April11, 1876; application filed November 18, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUSTIN CHAMBERS, of No.258 Marylebone Road, in the county of Middlesex, Kingdom of GreatBritain and Ireland, signal engineer, haveinvented Improvements inPneumatic Signaling Apparatus for Railways, of which the following is aspecilication? Thisinvention has for its objcctimprovements in pneumaticsignaling apparatus for railways, and has reference, mainly, toimprovements upon and further developments of, the invention forming thesubject of Letters Patent granted to me the 11th day of May, 1875, No.163,152, in which the semaphore arms or signaling objects or bodies areoperated pneumatically in such wise that when the pressure of theexternal atmosphere prevails in the pipes, tubes, or passagesestablishing connnunication between the signaling station or place andthe device which moves the semaphore-arm or other signaling object, thelatter is in the position indicative of danger! My invention relates tothe combination,

with a lever or its equivalent for moving railway points or switches, ota pipe, tube, or pas sage charged with air or other elastic fluid, andmeans for increasing or diminishing the pressure thereof above or belowthe external atmospheric pressure, such pipe, tube, or passage havingbranches or connections to the respective semaphore-arms or othersignaling objects or bodies, and being provided with apparatus operatedby the movements of the said lever or its equivalent for opening andclosing communication between the main pipe, tube, or passage and itsrespective branches, as well as between the latter and the externalatmosphere in such manner as to insure con rect signaling.

Figures] and 2 show the application of my invention to the points orswitches at a railway-junction.

a is the pipe from the compressor, or from a reservoir of compressedair. This pipe terminates in a valve-box, b, in which works aslide-valve, 0, connected by a stud, d, guided rod e, and link f, to thepoint-lever g, which lever is connected by a rod, h, to the points orswitches i j. From the face of the valvebox b there are three ports. Oneof these ports communicates with a pipe, k, for actuating the semaphorearm or signal of the line A. Another communicates with a pipe, I, foractuating the semaphore arm or signal of the line B; while a third, m,communicates with the external atmosphere. The drawing shows the partsin position for a train to pass along the line A. The pipe at is incommunication, by the port and pipe k, with the signalingarm of line A,which is, consequently, lowered to the position indicating that a trainmay proceed, while the pipe lis in communication, through the valve 0and port in, with the external atmosphere, so that as the normalatmospheric pressure prevails in the pipe I the signaharm ofthe line Bis in the horizontal or danger position.

It will be evident that on moving the lever 9 over in the direction ofthe arrow, so as to place the points in position t'ora train to proceedfrom the line A onto the line B, the valve 0 will be moved over, so thatthe signals will be reversed accordingly.

The arrangement shown is obviously capable of modification withoutdeparting from my invention, which is applicable in cases where thesignaling object is moved into the safety or pass-on position byrarei'ying the elastic fluid in the pipes instead of by compressing it.

Having described the nature of my said invention and the manner ofperforming it, I claimin combination with the point-lever g, rod h, pipea, and box I), the link f, guided rod e, stud d, slide-valve 0, workingin the box 11, and operating in connection with ports communicating,respectively, with the pipes k andl leading to the respective signalsand with the external atmosphere for actuating through a fluid mediumthe semaphore arms or signals of the lines A and B, all as shown andabove described, for the purpose specified.

AUSTIN CHAMBERS. Witnesses W. LLOYD WISE,

Patent Agent, London. E. KINGOOMBE,

Clerk, 69 King William Street, E. C.

